Spotlight Magazine

News Bulletin

The old adage that life only begins in Brazil after Carnival is probably true, but at least this year, we get an earlier start.

Many of you have complained that you are receiving Spotlight very late, and in too many cases not at all. We are experiencing very serious problems with the postal services and must apologise to our readers.

In the last issue we made an appeal for a contribution of R$ 100,00 for a year’s Spotlight, and we included an individual payment slip identifying each reader with a centavo addition. Due to the problem mentioned above, we are repeating this again in this issue. Please ignore if you have received it and made a contribution.

If you are a new reader and wish to subscribe the details are as follows Payment in any format to Fundação Britanica de Beneficencia Our bank is Bradesco, Agencia 78964 Conta 0000129.5 CNPJ 60.478.344/000.32. Please let us know at 3813-7080 and we will identify a number for you.

We have some new articles in this issue and lots of activities which are included in the calendar. Do not forget that the calendar is a major way ,not only to publish your event, but also to avoid unnecessary clashes with other events.

Welcome to the first issue of the 2018 Spotlight. As in the past, our January issue is delivered much later than we would like due mainly to our printers' holidays. We apologise for this delay.

The hard copy version of Spotlight versus the online digital version has been the subject of concern for some time in relation, given the overall costs of the magazine. The British Society recognises the importance of Spotlight as a means of communication with its members, but feels if it could liberate the costs of production this would help maintain the focus of the Society on the important contribution to the welfare help to our community.

We believe the hard copy version of Spotlight should continue. We are therefore appealing to all of our readers to help us continue by contributing R$ 100,00 for one year. Details of how you can contribute are included in this issue.

The Fundação Britânica de Beneficência held its Annual General Meeting at the Brazilian British Centre in December. We will be publishing more details in our next issue.

Our regular proof reader Alison was traveling and so I am grateful to Alan Marcus for his review of this issue.

On behalf of all of us at Spotlight and the British Society, I wish our readers and contributors a healthy, peaceful and prosperous 2018!

This is the last edition of the 2017 Spotlight. Another year of world confusion, dramatic weather, and the awful and tragic deaths caused by mindless people whether terrorists or not. On the home front, we continue to be amazed at the scale of corruption, and wonder who is next to appear on our front pages.

During the year, the British community in São Paulo celebrated various communityevents, especially the Queen’s Birthday, and the very special, and very Britishchurrascos organized by the volunteers of the Royal British Legion .Let us not forget the various cocktail parties, dances, bazaars and other charitable events put on by so many volunteers with dedicate long hours to make these events so special.

I should like to take this opportunity to thank all of our very loyal contributors for their regular and continued support. We would not have a Spotlight without you. One last wish: Please check the deadline date for future issues and do not forget the Community Calendar. Wishing all our readers a very happy Christmas and a healthy and successful 2018.

As promised in our last edition we are happy to publish a selection of photostaken at a most successful celebration of her Majesty Queen Elizabeth´s Birthdaysponsored by the British Society. The British Society team, led by Charlotte Cowell, and duly assisted by her hard-working team coordinated the event.

The British Society would like to thank all the sponsors for their generous donations and prizes which greatly added to the success of the evening.

It was a pleasure seeing so many members of our community and we hope youwill continue to support our events and projects and remember it is one of theimportant activities which help keep our community united.

Once again we have a full Spotlight and, as you can see from our calendar, lotsof activities in future months. Advise us of your events and just watch the deadline dates for inclusion.

When you receive this issue we will have enjoyed one of the annual events of theBritish community, the celebration of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s Birthday organized by the British Society and held at the British Centre. Full coverage andphotos will be included in our next edition.

This time last year, we waited not knowing whether Britain was in, or out of the European Community, and this year we had another surprise, with the recent elections in the UK. It would appear this is a time of year where the politic pundits get their maths wrong.

We have also been saddened by the tragic and insane acts in Manchester and London, and the awful fre in Kensington. Our local politics, whether municipal or Federal, leave a lot to be desired, and we continue every day with a new personage in our newspapers having committed some aditional misdemeanour. The amounts involved are mind blowing.

Spotlight continues to depend on the welcome contributions of articles from thecommunity, and I know this takes time and effort, but I would ask you to please check our deadline date, which appears on the left hand side of this note, as delays have an accumulated effect on the eventual delivery date in the following month. Sorry if I keep repeating this note.

This edition went to press without our expert proof reader Alison´s corrections, so if you spot any errors you can blame the editor.

The British Society is preparing for one of the main events of the British communityyear, the celebration of HBM Queen Elizabeth´s birthday which is being planned for June 20th..SAVE THE DATE.

This is one of those occasions where you have the chance to catch up with old friends, and also see what the British Society is doing in its efforts to support the ever diminishing community.

Lots of events are on our calendar, but I still note some clashes of eventsI would just like to bring to your attention an extortion racket which seems to haveraised its head again. A phone call in the middle of the night to advise you that oneof your children/family has been kidnapped . They callers rely on the shock of thiscall to attempt to obtain ransom money, as the caller puts on a voice that sounds like your child /family. Recently, two of our community received calls on the same night, and I also heard that three different members of a local club also received similar calls. Beware, forewarned is forearmed. In all fve cases mentioned , thankfully, the kidnapping was false.

Lots of holidays in the month, with the delay in publishing at the printers , so forgive us if we are a little late this month.

I have received a number of comments from our readers regarding the version of Spotight they are receiving. As you know, you can receive Spotlight, either in its digital version, or in the tradional printed version. Many of those who have contacted me do not want, for various reasons to receivethe digital version, and have enquired what action should they take to receive the printed version. Simply phone or e-mail British Society and request the version you wish to receive. Details for contact are on the left hand side of this page.

Carnival has come earlier than usual, so as the saying goes, things only begin here in Brazil after Carnival and, hopefully this is true.

I have had a look at my editorials for the last three years where I wrote about poor economic results, scandals of corruption, the lethargic and complicated bureaucratic judiciary system, and the Zika problem of last year. I could hav copied it directly for this year and added unemployment, Yellow Fever, Brexit and Donald Trump for some external comments...Unfotunately, nothing seems to have changed... Hopefully, the editorial for 2018 will be looking at happier times.

Sadly, we have a couple of major community events clashing due to lack of cooperation and getting the events published in our community calendar. The calendar is a major way not only to publish you event, but to avoid these clashes. Organizers go to a lot of effort to put these together, so please check out the dates.

Welcome to the first issue of the 2017 Spotlight. Our first edition of the year is always a problem due to printers´ holidays and the deadlines seem to get tighter, so please bear with us for delivery a little later than usual.Two points I seem to raise every year, deadline dates and the community calendar. Much as I wish to include everything possible, I cannot push the deadline dates too far. Deadline dates are indicated on the bottom left hand side of this page.We get regular complaints about events clashes in the Community. Please make sure your association or activity is included. Just look at this issue (back page) and you will see we have an empty Community calendar. Help us to help your event.The Fundação Britânica de Beneficência held its Annual General Meeting at the Brazilian British Centre on November 8th. We will be publishing fuller details in our next edition of the meeting which was well attended.I get comments that the activities of the British Society (Fundação) are a mystery and are not fully transparent. Nothing could be further from the truth. The meeting consists of a full report on all of the activities under the umbrella of the Socierty and fully audited accounts are presented and explanations given on any doubts raised. This is a meeting you should attend if you have doubts.The Society has been, and is, extremely active especially in its efforts to attract younger members of the community. I will repeat my request for you to get involved in community affairs to help us help ourselves and others.Trustees are chosen from former presidents of the Fundação Britânica de Beneficência or the Fundação Anglo Brasilieira de Educação e Cultura and must be resident in the State of São Paulo . This year, the Trustees elected were Andrew G Macdonald, OBE (Senior Trustee), Douglas Munro, John Pacey and Derek Barnes (ex-oficio).As a result of the election of the Trustees, the composition of the Board of the Fundação Britânica de Beneficência for a one-year term is Michael Betenson President, Rachel Govier Vice-President,Nicholas McCarthy Treasurer, Matthew Govier Secretary, Marcos Versteeg, Anthony Jezzi, and Robert Filshill. The Fiscal Council elected was Jeremy Taylor. President, Stuart Duncan and Susan Hawkins.On behalf of all of us at Spotlight and the British Society I wish our readers and contributors a healthy , peaceful and prosperous 2017.

The year 2016 is almost over, and so many events have marked its passing. The Olympics in Rio, the impeachment of the president, the ongoing and numerous activities of the Lava Jato cases,Brexit, the American Presidential elections, the municipal elections , and the sad refugee problems around the world, just to mention a few top of the mind cases.

During the year, our community celebrated various activities, the Queen´s Birthday celebration, ¨churrascos¨, cocktail parties, dances, bazaars and other charitable events put together by t he community.

Sadly, as in every year we said farewell to loved ones whom we remember at this time, but we also welcomed new ones into our fold.

December is the month we hold the Annual General meeting of the British Society of São Paulo., where the officers who look after our community affairs are elected and the activities of the year are examined and discussed and future plans presented. This is your opportunity to participate and put your views forward . If you have something to say this is the time to say it. Please note that once again the British Society have opted to hold the meeting at St Paul´s School.

It has come to my attention that many of our readers are concerned regarding the continuing publication of the printed edition of Spotlight. Let me state, that while the British Society are seriously examining the digital version, as long as I am the editor, and the British Society continues to sponsor their only printed communication with the community, print will continue. There is space for both.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank most sincerely all our contributors for their regular and continued support. Wishing all of our readers a very happy Christmas and a healthy and successful 2017.

Since our last issue, BREXIT became a fact, albeit by a very close margin 52% vs 48%. Lots of loose ends to resolve and, in particular, the situations of Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Here in Brazil not much change, maybe some improvement in the economy and, as I write, we still await the very final decision on the impeachment of Dilma Rousseff. Once this decision has been made Brasília can start to think about how to get us back on track.

In São Paulo we prepare for another round of local elections with all sorts of alliances being made.

As I write, the Rio Olympics are in full swing, and are a great sporting success with some incredible events and results. Our television coverage has been ex-cellent, and has given us an insight into some of the lesser known sports.

As promised in our last edition, I include the report received from the British Society on the recent Queen's Birthday celebration, together with a selection of photos taken at that event.

Lots of activities are being organized, so if you want us to inform the community, drop us a line to include in the Spotlight calendar.

Once again, dare I say it, please check out our deadline dates which appear in every edition on the left hand side of this article.

When you receive this issue we will have enjoyed one of the most awaited annual events of the British community, the celebration of Her Majest Queen Elizabeth's Birthday organized by the British Society. Full coverage and photos to be included in our next edition.

We will also know whether Britain is in, or out of the European Community, and know how this will affect our lives, both in the UK and this end of the world.

Sadly, local politics, whether municipal or federal, leave a lot to be desired, and every day a new personage is on the front page having committed some misdemeanour and one begins to wonder, who will be left to run the show.

We have lots of sporting activities taking place to liven up our day. The European football championship, has started, alas, with English and Russians suppoters showing how not be have, and of course, in August we have the Rio Olympics.

Spotlight depends on the welcome contributions of articles from the community, and i know this takes time and effort, but i would ask you to please check our deadline date, which appears on the left hand side of this note, as delays have an accumulated effect on the eventual delivery date in the following month.

This edition went to press without our expert proof reader Alison's corrections, so if you spot any errors you can blame the editor.

We are preparing for one of the main events of the British Community in São Paulo, which is the celebration of HBM Queen Elizabeth´s II 90th birthday.

The British Society will be hosting the event on Thursday 23rd June 2016 from 7pm at the Brazilian British Centre and you will see details on the British Society page and the save the date printed below.

This is one of our most important social events and is an ideal opportunity for the community to meet and to strengthen connections and friendships amongst its members.

Put this date on your list and catch up with friends you have not seen for some time.

Communication is the key to informing readers of your activities. Spotlight exists to help readers know of your activities and events and to give adequate notice to avoid conflict of various events on the same date.